Adani group stocks were in focus as research firm Hindenburg Research claimed that the conglomerate engaged in stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades.
During the day, Nifty hit a low of 17,846.15 and Sensex fell 60,081.36, but both recovered a little before close.
Except a handful of stocks such as HUL, ITC and NTPC, all other stocks closed in the red. SBI, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were the top losers. On the hand, HUL, Maruti and Tata Steel were the top gainers on Sensex.
“Domestic equities saw volatility amid monthly derivatives expiry and subdued global markets. Sentiments also dampened after short seller Hindenburg raised concerns over the Adani Group’s debt position, leading to intense selling in them. Nifty opened lower and witnessed continued selling pressure throughout the session. Volatility index, India VIX rose by 7.3% to 14.66 levels," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Indian market will be closed on January 26 for Republic Day.
“Asian equities scaled their highest levels in seven months on Wednesday after some regional markets reopened after holidays, betting on a Chinese economic recovery this year. European equities were subdued on Wednesday, as investors mulled over fresh corporate earnings. Nifty seems to have given a fresh breakdown. 17761-17774 band is the immediate support for Nifty below which the downtrend could accelerate. On upmove, 18145 could prove to be a resistance," said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
All sectoral indices on NSE closed in the red with banking and financial stocks seeing the deepest cuts, oil & gas, pharma, realty, media all closed lower by more than 1% each.
“All sectors ended in red with Banking and Oil & Gas being major losers. Weak guidance from Microsoft and other major corporates along with poor US economic data dented the global sentiments. Now the release of US inflation data on Thursday would be keenly watch as it would have a bearing on the upcoming US Fed meeting. We expect market to remain volatile in a broad range until the completion of two major events – Fed Meeting and Union Budget on Feb 1st, which could provide clear direction to the market on either side," said Khemka.
Smallcap index fell less than the Nifty though the advance decline ratio fell to 0.34:1.
